The train whistle's mournful cry split the city park's cold night air. It was time.

Heart pounding, fists clenched, Kristen Anderson climbed up and lay across the tracks, the ice cold metal against her thighs, wood and rock of the trestle biting into her stomach beneath. She braced for the trains onslaught and thought "Heaven has to be better than this life."

Seconds later 33 freight train cars crossed her body at 55 miles per hour and severed both legs. She later said on the Oprah show, I "...saw my legs behind me on the right, ten feet away."

On that cold January night, 17-year-old Kristen, weary of emotional pain and feeling like a failure thought suicide was the answer. Instead, she learned God had another plan that began with her miraculous survival. An engineer later told her she should have been "sucked up into the train" instead of pushed down which saved her life.

Join Kristen's courageous journey from near-death to vibrant life in this inspiring story of God's supernatural grace. Although in appearance like any girl-next-door, no one saw the darkness behind the mask she wore that concealed emotional pain, confusion and a growing depression. Symptoms of deeper problems that began with her inability to deal with the deaths of her grandmother, four friends and being raped by a trusted friend

Her compelling story brings tears, but also joy as readers walk through the pages of her amazing spiritual journey where she finds "wholeness...and hope in Christ...a purpose for living." Today she lives in "the center of God's will" without legs, which to Kristen is better than her former life with legs.

The compelling true story combines a powerful message of God's miracles with how to make a decision for Christ. Notes from Kristen end several chapters and a list of suicide warning signs is also included as well as information on Kristen's "Reaching You Ministries." www.reachingyou.org

**Teen suicide rates are the third leading cause of death in ages 15 to 24 and fourth among ages 10 through 14, , according to the Center for Disease Control. http://www.teensuicidestatistics.com/

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Gail's articles and book reviews appear in MIDWEST BOOK REVIEWS among other national and local publications on the Internet and in print media. She loves to read, and believes God teaches and instructs her in which way to go, according to Jeremiah 29:11. She and her husband live beside the Skagit River in Washington state.